Man Made Lightning
by Miss Rigby
Summary: A secretive new mutant comes to the Xavier Institute under mysterious circumstances. The new mutant begins to have horrific nightmares of her past, strangely familiar to those of Logan. Hmmm... very interesting... Read and review, please!
1. Chapter One

Hello everyone!  I know that my summary was not very gratifying, but thank you for checking my story out anyway!  Please enjoy it and review all you like; preferably keeping flames to a minimum.  I have all the way to Chapter Nine written so I'll update as soon as ya'll review.  Have fun!

Chapter 1-"Enter: Mutant W"

                        One day Professor Charles Xavier was using his supercomputer Cerebro, trying to see if that by some incredibly lucky twist of fate he could find the current whereabouts of Magneto, who hadn't been seen in months.  While he was using the complicated piece of modern machinery the detection of a new mutant caught his eye.

                It was very curious; the mutant was using their powers methodically, almost on cue or something.  Another thing that was strange about this mystery mutant was that their power would change; though the professor could not directly know what the power was, he new that they were different because every time this person changed their power it would show up as another new mutant in the same place.  He could tell, however, that what ever ability this mutant had, it was exceptionally powerful.

                Professor X was most intrigued by this mutant and decided to just keep an eye on them for awhile before looking more deeply into the case.  He decided to give up on looking for Magneto for now and left Cerebro.

                The professor watched this mutant on Cerebro as life went on very much as usual at the Xavier Institute and Bayville High.  The day after he first saw him (or her) something quite peculiar happened.  The routine usage of powers was the same except that now only one was used.  Now, either they had just decided to use one ability or some other force had intervened somehow.  

                A few days after the mutant had begun to use only one power, another very puzzling thing happened.  The regular usage of their powers stopped.  He sensed one great blast of whatever energy this mutant could control, and then no more.  The mutant ceased using their powers completely, and Professor X couldn't find them anymore.  For almost two months he had not sensed a single use of the mutant's powers.  Then, one night, it happened; the mutant finally used their ability.  It started suddenly and kept up a steady strength.  Now he took action instantly and looked deeper into this mystery mutant.  He was able to find a small bio, similar to the one for Kitty Pryde he had acquired not so very long ago.

                However, this biography was hardly satisfying.  The only information it gave was the name "Mutant W" and a number, like the one they give you in prison… or a laboratory.  As soon as he found this Professor X decided they must take immediate action.  He had waited too long watching this mutant, and hadn't even told the others, having not been quite sure of the situation himself.  He still wasn't entirely clear but he knew that this would be the only way to get information.

                He used his telepathy to summon a few of the X-Men to Cerebro.  Swiftly, they made their appearances: Kurt teleporting instantly, followed by Kitty who ran through the door with Ororo, Scott and Logan on her heels.  

                "What is it Professor?" Kitty asked excitedly.

                "Yeah, Charles, you sounded pretty anxious.  What's up?" Logan asked.

                "We have little time, so I will get right to the point," he stated quickly, "I have discovered a new mutant."  He went on to briefly tell them of all the odd things about this mutant, how he hadn't sensed the person in two months till now, and the meager bit of information on their bio, as the X-Men listened intently.

                "I regret not telling you sooner, but it cannot be changed now.  So, I have chosen you to go and find this "Mutant W"," the Professor concluded.  Kurt was the most enthusiastic of the group.

                "Woo-hoo!" he cried, "I finally get to go on a mission!"  Logan just shook his head slightly at Kurt's excitement.  Immediately Ororo took charge of the group.  

                "Okay, when we get in the jet we'll split up into two groups… " she started.

                So the five mutants suited up and piled into the X-Jet, Storm driving and Wolverine on the passenger's side.  They had just gotten to a level altitude when they got the coordinates of Professor X.  They indicated a place in the Big Apple; New York City.

                As they arrived at their destination; they saw they were certainly not on the upper east side.  Storm, who knew very little of the city, but still more than the others, concluded they were in the Bronx, the west side.

                "Figures," Logan said with a snort.

                The coordinates had turned out to be on a street at the edge of some neighborhood.  Each house looked pretty much the same, varying only in color: all were narrow with two stories, and each had a stoop up to the front door directly from the sidewalk, and all of them looking sad and weatherworn.  None of them had yards, although there was a tall, skinny tree in a small circle of dirt enclosed by fence in front of every house on the opposite side of the sidewalk.  All the houses seemed very ominous and unfriendly, and many windows were either boarded up or had bars over them.  A cat hissed as the garbage can it had been pillaging tipped over.  There was garbage and other unidentifiable sludge in the gutters and the place was entirely silent and dark.  The skyline of the city could be seen all around them, giving it an unusual atmosphere.  The air was tense with what felt like an almost electrical current.

                The teams walked on in opposite directions, since there was no sight of a mutant, or human for that matter, at the point indicated by Professor X's coordinates.  Wolverine, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler walked aloof down the wide sidewalk, keeping their eyes peeled.  Their surroundings gradually changed, though they had not gone far.  The street widened and was less of a neighborhood road.  The buildings began to look more industrial, and more menacing.  There was a lot more graffiti on the walls and fences, and any bit of grass there might have been was choked with weeds.  The sidewalk was near to nonexistent now so the trio walked on the road.

                Shadowcat shuddered and said, "This place really makes me nervous, you know?"

                Nightcrawler nodded emphatically and replied, "Oh yeah!  Very freaky!"

                The stars were clouded over and a faraway rumble of thunder was heard, making the place drearier and creepier than ever. 

                As another faint rumble was heard, Cyclops, who was searching with Storm, pointed at the sky and asked, "You?" indicating the weather.

                Storm shook her head and said, "No.  This is nature's own work."  Their scenery hadn't changed much since they started walking.

                Suddenly Wolverine held his head up towards the churning black clouds and sniffed deeply.  He thought he had heard something.  As he sniffed the air, he was sure he could smell something; a mutant.  He listened carefully now, and heard faintly something that must be from where the scent was coming from; and it did not sound good.  Shadowcat noticed Wolverine's behavior and asked, "What do you hear?"

                "I don't know," Wolverine replied, finally thinking he had pinpointed the location of the sounds, "but it sure ain't no carnival.  Stay here!" he ordered gruffly as he took off running.  The sound was in an alley not very far away.  Shadowcat and Nightcrawler just stared after him indignantly.  

                "I hate it when he does that, "Nightcrawler sighed.

                Shadowcat nodded.  "We should probably contact Storm and Cyclops; I bet he found something," she said. 

                "Gee, ya think?"

                Shadowcat glared at Nightcrawler reprehensibly for a brief second before whipping out her communicator.  "Hey, Storm, this is Shadowcat," she said into it.

                "Yes, I'm here Shadowcat, what is it?"

                "I think Wolverine's found something.  You better come over here."

                Shadowcat told Storm their location as well as she could, and then turned off her communicator.  As she was putting it away it started to rain.  Gently at first, then it slowly became a drenching downpour.  

                "Ugh!  Gross!" Shadowcat cried.

                "Let's see if we can find a doorway or something to sit in while we wait for Storm!  This can't be good for my fur!!" Nightcrawler suggested over a great boom of thunder.  They found a building that looked like it was once a store.  Now however, the large, square front window was broken and there was yellow "CAUTION" tape across the front of the door.

                The building did have a rather ragged awning though, so the two mutants sat down underneath it.  They both then noticed how they had heard the thunder getting steadily louder, and the sky getting significantly darker, as if the storm were getting very close; almost upon them.  The strange thing was that although the air had that weird electrical charge like in most giant storms, the pair had yet to see a single bolt of lightning.

                Wolverine ran down an alley about five or so blocks away.  He could smell the mutant for sure now, and hear the sounds of a fight.  The alley he was in went into a T further down, one alley going left and the other going right, perpendicular to the alley he was in.  The alley was cluttered with garbage and stank something foul.  Tall cardboard boxes were stacked randomly throughout the alleys, along with several dumpsters.  Remarkably, compared to the natural, if strong, electrical feeling of the storm, in the alley the air felt three times as charged; it made his hair stand on end as if static in the air was causing it.  When Wolverine reached the T he crouched behind one of these dumpsters and peered into the alley going to the right.

                His eyes narrowed and he sniffed deeply, trying to discern the mutant from the rest of the punks in the brawl.  There seemed to be a large group of guys all dressed in loose articles of clothing of a nondescript color.  Every one of them was drenched in the downpour still hammering down.  A roll of thunder set the dumpster lid to rattling and seemed to shake more rain loose.  It came down in bigger drops, and harder; the drops bounced back up off the pavement and giant puddles.

Wolverine couldn't make any sense out of the fight until suddenly a thin figure burst from a small break in the mass of bodies.  However, they didn't get far.  They stumbled and fell, obviously injured.  The ragged skeleton of a human being struggled to get up but the gang stuck with them, pummeling them with kicks and punches.  Taking one last sniff to be sure, Wolverine knew that this pitiful creature was their Mutant W.  Before he could act, one of the thugs grabbed a beer bottle from the expanse of litter on the ground and broke it right over the mutant's head!  The figure went limp, but then miraculously stirred.  It was obvious the punks wanted this person dead, and were disappointed this effort hadn't worked.  They went back to beating on the paltry mutant even more violently.  One of the guys grabbed the figure's arm and pulled and twisted in such a way that Wolverine was sure it was broken.  The piteous creature let out a strangled cry.  Wolverine stepped out from behind the dumpster, releasing his claws with a _shing__!  _

                "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, bub?"

                Cyclops came running up to Nightcrawler and Shadowcat with Storm flying above him, using her powers to prevent them from getting wet.

                "Which way did Wolverine go?"  Storm asked.

                "This way!  We'll show you!" Shadowcat cried over another ear-splitting roll of thunder.  With that, she and Nightcrawler took off in the direction Wolverine went, with Storm and Cyclops right behind them.

                When they got there they jumped right into the fight.  Wolverine had his hands full, as more and more punks kept coming right out of nowhere.  Cyclops began shooting off his optic blast as Nightcrawler and Shadowcat fought with their powers.  Wolverine was fighting with the rage that only he can fight with.  Storm levitated even higher.  The wind increased and though it was hard to believe, the rain came down even harder, stinging their flesh, and thunder clashed and rolled one after the other.  However, Storm looked troubled.

                "I can't make any lightning!" she called down to the other X-Men in dismay and perplexity.

                "What?!" Cyclops cried from the ground.

                "Can't you just make a tornado or something?" Nightcrawler suggested over the roar of thunder, "Blow these guys away!"

                "The buildings are too close; I'd destroy too much!" Storm called back.

                The fight was still raging; even with the X-Men's powers they were beaten by sheer numbers.  Gangsters seemed to be coming out of the wood work.  Now, during all of this Mutant W had not been forgotten.  However, the gangsters were freaked of these strange new people and their powers, so they wanted to get their job over with quick and run.  One of the guys grabbed the mutant hard and held a switchblade to their throat.  Mutant W was near unconscious and beaten half-way to death; they couldn't have fought back if they tried.  

                Storm saw however and called out urgently, "Cyclops!"  Cyclops looked up and then over to where Storm was pointing.  He opened his ruby quartz lens and the guy dropped the knife and ran.  However, most of the gangsters were not so easily gotten rid of.  The mutant however, dropped hard into a mammoth puddle, hardly able to move.

                Storm cried over the pounding rain, "Wolverine!  Get Mutant W and we'll just go!"

                Wolverine hated to give up a fight but he looked over at Mutant W and knew this was life or death.  He finished off his last assailant with one swipe and ran over to the wretched being.  As he neared the mutant he saw for the first time that it was a girl.  She was still (barely) conscious, and as soon as she saw him coming over her eyes widened.  Wolverine stopped short as he saw the sheer terror in her slightly clouded eyes.  She tried her best to push herself backwards but collided with a pile of boxes as Wolverine slowly walked towards her.  The rest of the X-Men had to take care of the gangsters as he tried to get close enough to this girl.  

                "Look, kid, I'm here to help you!" he tried.  He pulled his claws in and tried again but the girl just seemed to panic even more the closer he got.  Then, she slipped suddenly from consciousness and just went limp.

                At about that moment huge bolts of lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the ground below as if the sun was speeding towards the earth.  Several hit the ground were the fight was, which Storm quickly stopped, but all across the sky lightning continued to flash, as if something that had been holding it back had finally been broken through.  In all the houses that the heart of the storm was over there was a huge power surge and then the biggest black-out seen in the Bronx in history.  Several bolts hit buildings and houses, starting blazing fires.  Luckily the rain was coming down in such a frenzy that the NY fire departments were not too over-whelmed.

                A bolt of lightning had hit a pile of cardboard boxes before Storm could control it, and as wet as the boxes were the lightning was hot enough to instantly ignite them.  The gangsters finally fled from the fire and ran off.  Wolverine at last picked up the comatose Mutant W and ran to Cyclops and the others.           

                "Nightcrawler!  Teleport us all back to the X-Jet, starting with Wolverine and Mutant W," Storm ordered.

                "Yes ma'am," Nightcrawler replied willingly, and started on his job; first teleporting Wolverine and Mutant W, then Shadowcat and Cyclops, and Storm last, upon her order.

                The lightning was still lashing like white fire with wild abandon across the sky.

                "How are we going to get the jet up with all this lightning?" Cyclops asked worriedly. "Do you think you could control it Storm?  Stop it from striking?"

                "No, there's too much of it.  I'll try to simply repel them from the jet until we clear the storm, "she replied.

                "Uh, what should I do with Mutant W here?" Wolverine asked uncomfortably, standing with the unconscious mutant still in his arms.

                "Just hold her Wolverine!" Storm said impatiently. "Now, Cyclops pilot; I'm going to need all the concentration I can get.  And you'd better sit down and buckle up," she directed to the rest of the team in the back.  "It's going to be a bumpy ride," she said as her eyes clouded over, turning completely white.

                With a jerk the jet rose into the air.  Cyclops piloted as best he could, having often to dodge lightning bolts and fight over enormous currents of wind for the control of the steering mechanism.  It was a bumpy ride indeed, not to mention the psychotic fury of sizzling electricity just barely being directed away from the jet.

                When Wolverine was not battling to stay in his seat and make sure he did not drop the cataleptic mutant to the floor as they flew with as much speed as the lightning allowed to the end of the storm, he looked at the mutant lying in his arms.

                She was fairly tall and absurdly thin, light as a feather in Logan's grip.  Under the layer of dirt and grime she seemed sickly pale, and her hair and parts of her clothes were matted with blood.  She had some bruises and welts already beginning to show and a trickle of blood running down her face from just in front of her hairline.  Her lip was swollen and a tiny line of blood was seeping out of the corner of her mouth.  One of her eyes was blackened and more blood had leaked out of her nose and dried.  She wore a pair of soiled baggy pants ripped in several places, and an old black hooded sweatshirt that looked more like it belonged in a dumpster.  Wolverine suddenly realized with a flinch, that's probably where she got it.  Her hair looked to be a darkish brown; it was dirty and sopping wet like the rest of her and she seemed very cold.  

                "Storm, we gotta get her to Xavier," Wolverine said with suppressed urgency.

                Storm, panting and sweating from her exertions, looked back, not having to use her powers since they left the storm, and a concerned expression came onto her face.  This was pretty much the first time that Kurt and Kitty took a good look at Mutant W too.  They both cringed and Ororo urged Scott to go faster.

                Luckily they neared the school within ten minutes.  As they were almost there Storm used the radio to call in and let Professor X know they back.  Of course he already knew.  

                Scott landed the jet and all five of them went to Cerebro with Mutant W.  As they walked in the Professor took one look and began giving orders, very calmly although he himself was quite concerned.

                "Kurt, Scott, and Kitty go on up to your rooms after you change your suits.  Ororo, you can go to bed as well," the Professor said, seeing how tired Storm looked, though she tried to hide it.  The energy put forth by her on the jet ride home was enough to exhaust just about anyone, and by now it was sometime in the wee hours of the morning.

                "Wolverine stay with me," he finished.  Then, as the others were walking out the door, he added, "Oh, and don't tell anyone about Mutant W.  I'd like to do that myself when the time is right."

                Scott, Kitty, and Kurt all nodded sleepily as they shuffled out.  As curious as they were about Mutant W, their curiosity was subdued by sheer exhaustion.  They had been on the mission all night, the fight was quite arduous, they were freezing and soaked to the bone, _and_ they still had school tomorrow.

                As soon as the doors to Cerebro were closed Professor X said urgently, "We have to get her to the infirmary."  And that is where they went.  Mutant W was taken directly into Intensive Care.  Neither Logan nor the Professor was allowed to see her until they were sure she was in a stable condition.  Logan relayed all the details of the mission to Professor Xavier, the bad neighborhood, the fight, the lightning.

                As they walked out the Professor sensed that Logan had something else to say, something he was holding back.  He didn't need telepathy to tell that.  But all Logan would say was, "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help, Charles?"

                "No, no Logan.  Now we just have to wait.   Go get some rest," the Professor replied kindly.

                Logan nodded but still seemed unsatisfied as he walked away, deep in thought.  The Professor was absorbed in his own notions also, for he had many thoughts about this mysterious Mutant W.


	2. Chapter Two

Hello again my fellow X-Men fans!  Here is the next installment.  I do not believe I put a disclaimer in the first chapter so I will do that now just so that no one will sue me!  ;P  

Disclaimer:  I own nothing pertaining to X-Men or X-Men: Evolution, or any related media.  I do, however, own my little character Mutant W!  (You find out her name in this chappie!!!)

I think I am good now.  So you all go read chapter two and please review!!  (Hey, that rhymed…)  

Chapter Two-"Interesting Developments"

                Three days had passed since the night the X-Men rescued Mutant W.  Scott, Kurt, and Kitty were dying of curiosity and were quite hard put not to tell anyone about her.  Ororo was curious as well but continued performing her duties around the school.  Logan and Professor X were Mutant W's most frequent visitors.

                At one visit soon after her arrival, Logan finally spoke what had seemed to be on his mind since the arrival of this mutant.

                "There's just one thing I can't stop thinking about, Professor," he said as they entered the infirmary.

                "And what is that, Logan?"

                Logan explained haltingly, with great difficulty, "I just can't understand… In the alley the night we rescued Mutant W, she was so…scared, so terrified, of _me.  I mean…  Am I a monster, Charles?"_

                Professor Xavier turned his wheelchair around to face the distressed mutant.  He said logically, "Logan, think.  It was a stormy night, it was dark, she had just been savagely beaten by a gang; if I were her, I would have been scared of anything at that particular moment!"

                Logan sighed and said, "Yeah…" but seemed unsatisfied, though he chose not to pursue the issue.  Upon reaching the bed of Mutant W, Logan finally noticed that there wasn't a sling on either of her arms.

                "Hey Charles," he addressed the Professor," Did they do any X-rays on her?"

                "I don't believe so, Logan.  They hadn't detected broken bones, so they didn't think it necessary."

                "But when I was there the other night, I swear I saw those punks break her arm!"

                "Are you sure?"

                "If it wasn't for the storm, I could've heard the bones snap."

                The Professor then requested the infirmary staff to get an X-ray on the mystery mutant.  They did this, and the results came in not too long after.  Professor X went to view the x-rays while Logan stayed with Mutant W.  Again he looked at the enigma who had so suddenly come into their company.  She still looked pretty beat-up, but she was indeed cleaner.  He could tell for sure now that her hair was a deep brown.  Her features looked tired and care-worn; she looked only about seventeen years old.

                Upon the Professor's return to the mutant's bed Logan asked, "Well?  Where any broken?"

                "No, there weren't," the Professor said strangely.

                "How is that possible?" Logan demanded.

                "Look at this," he replied calmly, handing Logan an x-ray he had been holding.  Logan held it up to the light on the ceiling and his eyebrows furrowed in incredulity.  "Adamantium…?" he said in disbelief, only half a question.  The Professor nodded; someone had injected this mutant's bones from her fingertips to halfway between her wrist and elbow with adamantium.

                Mutant W was dreaming.  She was recalling the night in the alley.  Her poor mental stability at the time caused what she saw, the real situation, to become warped, transformed into a nightmare.

_She was in the alley.  It was raining.  It was raining so hard that the little drops stung when they hit her, biting her flesh.  Then, there was pain, enormous pain.  Someone was kicking her, punching her, she couldn't stop them.  She tried to get away but she couldn't.  A thought struck her: why not use her power?  No, she couldn't do that.  If she did that they__ might see, might know__.  No matter what, she could not use her power._

_In one last attempt to free herself of the beating she threw herself to the side.  She opened her eyes to view her assailant.  Standing there in the pouring rain was a huge man with blades coming out of his hands, glaring down at her malevolently.  She froze in terror.  Her heart stopped.  He must be from them!  He has come to take her back…there__!  The man sneered as he saw her fear._

_Suddenly her terror enveloped her, and she felt herself spiraling…spiraling…down into darkness._

                Logan furrowed his brow as he saw the troubled look on the mystery mutant's face.  This was the first sign of life besides breathing they had seen from the mutant in three days.  Logan had been sitting by her bed for about an hour; he and Professor Xavier had been sitting shifts with the mutant so that they could explain what happened to her right when she woke up.  Logan had sat more shifts than the Professor, partly because the Professor had more duties to attend to, but more so because Logan was so strongly intrigued by this mutant.

                At that moment, Mutant W stirred.  In her mind she had been reliving her fall into unconsciousness, but now the nightmare caused her mind to go full throttle into the real world.

                Logan watched her, hoping she would finally wake up.  With his heightened sense of hearing he could hear Professor X's wheelchair coming down the hallway far away.  That would be even better, to have both of them there, Logan thought.  And it turned out to be quite true.

                Mutant W finally woke and opened her eyes, just as suddenly as she had closed them in the alley almost a week ago now.  She just blinked at first, getting used to the light, and adjusting her vision, waiting for the blur to clear.  As soon as she could see clearly she immediately began to panic.  She looked down at her arm and saw the tube, not noticing it was attached to an IV, and then looked around frantically, her eyes wide, and saw all the scenery, so similar to a laboratory.  Then she saw Logan.  She gasped as she realized _this was the man from her nightmare!  She began to panic and tried desperately, frantically to get away, attempting to push herself backwards from the now standing, and rather, if unintentionally, imposing figure._

                Logan looked down strangely as he felt the hair on his arms and neck begin to rise for no apparent reason.  He thought of the night in the alley, but shook his head and concentrated on trying again to calm her, but to no avail.  She began to almost push herself off the bed, never taking her fright-filled eyes off of Logan.  He used his mind to call to Professor X, telling him urgently to come quick.

                "Kid, I'm not going to hurt you!  I promise!" Logan tried again, almost pleading.  Just in the nick of time, the Professor came in.  Instantly taking in the scene, and having sensed the potent feeling of fear from down the corridor he immediately said to Mutant W, "You can relax.  We're not going to hurt you."

                "That's what I tried to tell her," Logan said quietly to Professor X.

                The Professor used his mind to calm her slightly, and she stopped struggling to get away, but she was very jumpy and her eyes remained like those of an animal surrounded by predators.  Logan saw her fear of him again and backed behind Professor Xavier in shame.  For the first time, the mutant spoke:

                "Who are you?  And why did you take me back to the lab?!"  Her voice sounded raw, and cracked terribly from lack of use, but still she sounded strong and almost dangerous, attempting to cover up her fear.  Well, as dangerous as a person on a hospital bed with an IV sticking out of their arm can sound.

                "This isn't a laboratory," the Professor said calmly and gently, though very confused, "It's a school."  The mutant looked at him quizzically.  

                "A-a school?" she ventured.  She seemed genuinely curious, but she soon put her guard back up and looked at the two mutants with great distrust in her eyes.

                "Please, sit back," the Professor suggested.  She looked at him suspiciously, then got back under the thin hospital covers and sat back on the upright pillows.

                "Now, all I ask is that you listen to what I have to say before making any judgments," the Professor went on.  "My name is Professor Charles Xavier, and I am in charge of this building you are in."

                "The school?" Mutant W interrupted, saying the word like it was new to her, and seeming to like the sound of it.

                "Not exactly," the Professor continued, "This is a place where some of the school's students can stay; a kind of dormitory.  It is, however, just for students like you."

                At this a look of alarm returned to the young mutant's face.  She opened her mouth as if to deny but Professor X cut her short.  "Now, listen.  You don't have to be ashamed of your gifts.  There are others like you, and they all stay here; all the ones going to Bayville High, anyway."

                The mutant closed her mouth and cocked her head, glaring at the Professor somewhat skeptically.

                "I've asked one of our students to come and meet you," Professor X said, "She should be arriving right now."

                At that moment a fairly tall and slender girl walked in with a long brown ponytail and a perky step.  She walked over to the bed and stood next to Logan, giving Mutant W a friendly smile.  Mutant W just looked at her with curiosity, then her eyes just naturally drifted to Logan standing next to her and wariness came back to her pale, wan face.  Logan shifted uncomfortably.  Mutant W looked back at the Professor as he began again to speak.

                "This is Kitty Pryde, she was one of the mutants who rescued you," he introduced.  After he said this Kitty waved and gave a cheerful, "Hi!" 

                "Mutants?  So she goes to this school too?  And she's a-a mutant?" Mutant W asked cautiously, suspiciously.  Professor looked at Kitty and nodded, so she said, "Yeah, basically!  It's totally cool."  Mutant W just blinked so Professor X explained, "You see, Kitty stays here at the Xavier Institute because she is like you."  Mutant W gave him a confused look with not a little doubt.  "Kitty?  Why don't you show her what it is that you can do?"  At this Kitty nodded enthusiastically and promptly walked right through the bed, to Mutant W's infinite shock.

                Her eyes widened in surprise and astonishment as she let out a startled gasp.  She looked swiftly back at Professor X.  "Kitty has the ability to walk through solid objects," Professor explained. "And I have the power of telepathy, using my mind to communicate and more."  He tactfully left out the mention of Logan, at least for now.

                Mutant W interrupted with, "So everybody can do something, um…unique here?"

                "Exactly.  Every one of the students staying at the Xavier Institute can do something special.  These people are mainly known as mutants, and there are even more in the world than those staying here, looking for guidance.  Some, however, do not have good intentions.  What we do here at the Institute is try to stop these rebel mutants to try and one day achieve peace between ourselves and non-mutants.  We call ourselves the X-men," the Professor finished.  

                Mutant W, with her mouth slightly agape, looked from Professor Xavier to Kitty, and back to the Professor again several times, always avoiding Logan.

                "X-men?" she said, with an air of both sarcasm and intrigue.  She put her hand to the stitched-up cut on her forehead and said, "I think I need some sleep."  A very exhausted look came over her face.

                "Of course," the Professor said understandingly, "We'll come visit you again tomorrow when you've rested."  Mutant W shot a wary glance at Logan as he turned to walk out, scowling down at his boots.

                "Yeah, see ya!" Kitty called back amiably.  She and the Professor turned to follow Logan out of the door.  Professor X then turned around and asked, "One more thing before we go.  What is your name?"

                Mutant W looked down for a moment, as if racking her brain trying to remember.  Then she looked up at them and replied softly, "My name's Regina."

                "Well, good-night, Regina," Professor X said with a smile and turned to go, with Kitty right behind him.  Logan turned to look at Mutant W, now Regina, before he closed the door.  He saw her roll over and sigh, obviously not going to be able to fall asleep right away.


	3. Chapter Three

Here's the next chapter!

Thanks, MOTA, for reviewing!  *hugs*

So yes, this is the chapter in which everyone's favorite mutant Nightcrawler comes in!  And I found, in this big, giant book of everything X-Men that I got, that "bamf" is the official sound he makes when he teleports.  So there you go.

Happy reading!  **And reviews would be nice!!!**

Chapter Three-"Bamf"

                Regina didn't get to sleep for a very long time indeed that night.  She laid there for hours, her thoughts going every which way.  _Mutant?, she thought, __X-men?  Protecting humans?  Feh, what have humans ever done for me?  At this she thought of the scientists and rolled over angrily.  __But a school?_  With other students who are my age, maybe even friends… Yeah, like that could happen.  Then again…maybe it could. That Kitty girl seemed really nice…  _Her thoughts went on like this as the second hand on the clock ticked away the seconds, then minutes, then hours, before she finally came up with a conclusion and went to sleep._

                Back just outside the door after their little "conversation" with Regina the other three mutants started walking back to the main building of the Institute.  Kitty had said good-night and disappeared through a wall, taking a short-cut to her room.  Logan and the Professor were left to talk.

                "Did you see how afraid she was of me?" Logan inquired.

                "I did, Logan.  Now I see what you were talking about.  Perhaps that night in the city has something to do with it, however I think that something in this mutant's past must be the reason for such feelings, but it's terrible to think what possibly could've caused such deep fear," Professor answered.

                Logan sighed, obviously troubled.  The two walked on in silence.

                The next day, Professor X came to visit Regina and she told him her decision.

                "I've decided to join your school, Professor Xavier," she said formally.

                "I am very glad you have made that choice," he replied happily, shaking her outstretched hand.

                "I do have just one question though," Regina ventured cautiously.  "Who is that other mutant?  Logan, I think his name is."  The Professor looked at her closely.

                Slowly he answered, "Yes, his name is Logan."

                "And his power are those claws he has?" she interrupted.

                "Not exactly.  He has the ability to heal himself."  Professor X wasn't sure he wanted to go further than that into Logan's past; the horrible events at Alkali Lake.  Regina nodded.

                The Professor did, however, inquire, "Why do you ask?"

                Hesitantly and guardedly, Regina replied, "Well, he was in my dream.  The one I had the night I woke up, I guess.  It was about the night I was brought here.  At least, that's what I thought it was."

                Regina looked at the Professor to see if she should indeed tell him the dream.  Already a deep respect for the elder mutant had developed within her, and she decided she should.  She went on, "Except, in my dream, or nightmare, more likely, he wasn't there to save me."

                She stopped, not willing herself to continue if he didn't ask, not wishing at any cost to speak of _them_.           Thankfully, the Professor didn't press the issue, just nodded and said, "Well, that night was not an easy one for you.  Not to mention the fact you were unconscious for three days.  The mind is a vastly powerful and mysterious thing, it can subconsciously change any image it has, whether by nature, or otherwise.  Your dream was a result of your mind subconsciously twisting the reality it encountered, not for any real reason.  Basically, it was just a dream, it wasn't real," he finished reassuringly.

                Regina nodded, slightly dazed by the onslaught of philosophy, but still comforted.

                Just then a nurse of the infirmary came with a tray holding a plastic cup of Jell-O.  She placed it on Regina's lap saying sternly, "And you'd best eat it this time!  I don't want to find any more behind your pillows, in the side-table drawer, or at the foot of your bed!"  Regina gave a sheepish smile and shrugged an apology to the exasperated nurse, who just walked away "tut tut"-ing.  As soon as she was gone Regina scrunched up her nose at the Jell-O and looked at the Professor for assistance.  He laughed, saying, "You should probably eat that.  The sooner you get better here the sooner you can eat real food with the other students."  He left her wondering what creative new locations she could find to stash the Jell-O in.

                After just two more days in the infirmary Regina was going stir-crazy.  The Professor made daily visits to her, and they had become fast friends.  He had said that today he would bring Kitty back as well, so Regina was quite excited. She was so sick of being in that bed, in that room, that she decided to try and convince the Professor of letting her join the school.  She had spotted some clothes in a lower drawer of the side-table to the left of her bed.  She got out clumsily and stood there on unsteady legs, trying to change out of her hospital-like gown and into the garments.  _This will not be easy,_ she thought as she struggled to pull on the boot-leg jeans she had uncovered.  How was she ever going to convince them that she was healthy enough to start school?  She was definitely going to try.  She pulled on the black tank top that was with the jeans, wondering who had bought the clothes.  Finally she picked up her shoes, the only piece of cover still existing from her street urchin raiment..  She sat down on the bed, a great relief to her already exhausted legs, and pulled on the exceedingly grungy, old pair of blue Converse low-tops with dirty, frayed laces over the new white socks.

                Just as she was finishing her preparations, the door to the infirmary opened and the Professor and Kitty stepped in.  They both seemed surprised and delighted to see her dressed and standing, though the former was a mite skeptical.

                "Can I leave this infernal hospital now, Professor?" Regina asked.  "See?  I'm all better!"  She tried to prove her point by taking a step, but needed to grab onto the bed for support.  The Professor smiled and raised an eyebrow.  Regina remained adamant, "No!  I _am fine!  Really!  I can just walk this off!" she said, releasing her hold on the bed.  Her legs began to give underneath her so she just had to clutch onto it again to keep herself from falling to the floor._

                As she finally got herself stable and on her feet, much to the amusement of the Professor and Kitty, a figure appeared in the room from seemingly out of nowhere with a _bamf__! sound and a puff of blue smoke smelling of sulfur.  Regina gave a suppressed gasp of surprise and her legs completely collapsed, setting her down hard on her bed._

                The outlandish creature kept on_ bamfing_ in and out in several places around the room.  Regina watched in wonder and mystification.  From the quick snippets she could see of him she thought he was blue.  _Preposterous! She told herself.  But still, could she deny the evidence of her own eyes?_

                Kitty called out to the poofing figure in an annoyed yet bemused tone, "All right Kurt!  Stop showing off!"  The figure finally stopped and stood before Regina, smiling broadly and bowing.  Kitty rolled her eyes, but Regina just laughed and smiled in astonishment.  The creature was indeed blue, and quite fuzzy, with a tail and only two fingers and a thumb on each hand, his feet of a similar manner.  Regina smiled and blinked as the blue being announced extravagantly, with exaggerated movements of his arms, "I am zeh great Kurt Vagner!"  He spoke with a German accent.  At this Kitty shoved him with a laugh and Kurt exclaimed, "Hey!  You ruined my entrance!"

                To Regina he said, "So, what do you think of my power?  Pretty impressive, yah?"  He commenced in yet more _bamfing around the room._

                Regina ventured, "Uh…yeah.  Um, what is it?"

                Having said this, Kurt stopped _bamf_ing and looked at her in mock exasperation.  He then _bamf_ed himself onto her bed, seated next to her and said, "Teleportation!  See?" continuing to teleport all over the room.

                The Professor finally interjected with, "That's quite enough Kurt."  He sounded stern but there was a smile on his face.  Regina just kept looking between the three others, her friends, still not believing her good fortune.  She looked again at the odd blue boy, to whom she had taken instant liking.  What more would be waiting for her once she got to the actual Institute?

                "So let's go!" Regina said lightly outwardly, while inside she was mustering all the strength in her body to take a step without falling.

                "Regina, I don't think you're quite ready to go up there," the Professor said, indicating the rest of the mansion.

                "Sure I am!" she insisted, though she held her breath as she took a step, then let it out in relief as she did not fall.  "See?  I'm fi-"she tried to say as she took another step forward.  However, all her strength seemed to have been usurped in her first step, and gravity kicked in.  However, just in enough time, Kurt teleported to the spot she was standing, or rather falling, and caught her, then supported her as she stood.

                The Professor said bemusedly, "I hardly think you could make it out of the infirmary, let alone up the stairs to your room."

                "I could teleport her there, Professor!" Kurt said excitedly.

                "What?!" Regina cried a little anxiously.  She didn't know if she was quite ready for that.

                "Sure!" Kurt said, reassuring her, "I even teleported you onto zeh jet zeh night ve rescued you!"

                "Really?" Regina said with surprise.

                "Yah!  Can I professor?"  The professor looked doubtful, but consented, seeing the youthful, eager faces.  

                "Wait!  I-I don't know about this…" Regina stammered nervously.

                "It'll be fun!" Kurt said, and before Regina could protest, he teleported the both of them to Regina's room, which had been set aside since the day after she arrived, causing much talk amongst the students.  Regina looked around wide-eyed at the room before her, gaping. 

                "So this is _my_ room?" she asked Kurt in disbelief.  It was a standard Xavier Institute dorm room, but to Regina, it was paradise.  Kurt laughed at her astonishment.

                "Vhat?  Haven't you ever seen a bedroom before?" he asked jokingly.  Regina just continued to gawk.  By that time the Professor and Kitty had arrived as well.

                "So how do you like your room, Regina?" Kitty asked.  Regina smiled, that gesture she so rarely made.  The other mutants knew that the room was perfect.

                Eventually Regina just couldn't stand anymore and had to sit on the bed, a feather bed tailored to a queen compared to previous places she had slept.  And she had thought the infirmary bed was heaven!

                "I think we should leave you now," the Professor suggested.  "Looks like you could still use some rest.  I'm sure the infirmary nurses will give me plenty of trouble over letting you leave, but I think you'll be just fine."

                Regina nodded her head slowly, seeing as she was too tired to move any other appendage.  "I just need some real food," she said, thinking of the days upon days of Jell-O and other soft food items.  She shuddered at the thought.  It was almost time for dinner at the mansion and the smells were most tantalizing, so the Professor promised to get her some "real food" here in her room.  Regina thanked him sincerely and lay down gratefully in the blissful bed.

                Regina had fallen completely asleep by the time that Kitty walked through her wall with a dinner tray an hour later.  As she walked by to put the tray by her bed, Kitty noticed how somber this mutant was, even when sleeping.  She had the same grim expression that was on her face when she was awake.  Silently depositing the tray she left through the wall, the sleeping Regina never stirring.


	4. Chapter Four

Still only have one review.  *sniffle* Oh well.  I will keep on updating!  Man, sorry for the chapter title; I am sooo horrible at coming up with those.  They are evil!  Rawr!  Ahem, yes, well.  Next chapter up for the reading!  Enjoy!  Oh yeah, and in case I didn't already mention this, please tell me how I am doing on Kurt's accent.  I hate it when people over do it, that's why I don't write in Rogue's.  But on the suggestion of a friend I wrote Kurt's in, trying to be reasonable.  So please tell me if it's too much or anything.  Thanks!

Chapter Four-"A Pasta Dinner with Nightmare for Dessert"

                Regina slept all night, waking to find Kitty's now quite cold food beside her bed.  She ate it anyway, and with zest, because at least it was food she had to chew.  All that day she alternated resting and walking around her room, determined to get all her strength back.  She had always been a quick healer.

                No one came to visit because they were all at school.  This left her a lot of time to think about things.  Mostly she worried about school, and all the other kids she would meet, and the kindness of Professor X, but also about Logan, the man from her nightmare.  She knew now it was just a dream; she had no reason to be afraid of him.  But still…  She recalled the dream again, thinking of the mutant and his fury, of the pain, and the fear of going back _there…_  At this thought she shuddered, and again renewed her vow to herself that she would never think of that place again.  It was gone; she was starting a new life now, a better one.  With resolution, she again set to walking around her room, getting more and more secure every time.

                That evening, by the time that dinner was coming around, Regina was sure she could manage walking downstairs… or wherever the dining room was, since she had still only seen her bedroom and the infirmary.  The Professor had come in about an hour after the students had returned from school and she had lost no time in convincing him she was ready.  This time he believed her, and said she could come to dinner.

                Now the Professor had to officially announce her arrival.  He mentally told the students to meet in the dining room early; he had an announcement.  The students were buzzing, ecstatic to finally hear about the mystery mutant everyone had refused to tell them about.

                So, a little before the usual dinnertime, the X-men assembled: Cyclops, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Spike, Rogue, Storm, Jean Grey, Beast, and Wolverine.  Once they were all there, Professor X addressed them.

                "I am sure by now that you all know what I am announcing tonight," he started.  Several nods came from those seated at the table before him.  He continued, "Our institute has acquired a new student.  Her name is Regina.  I ask you now to not pester her with questions, she is only just recovered.  I'm sure you have a lot you want to know, but in time you will find out."  That is all he would say.  The mutants all started talking, except for Scott, Kitty, and Kurt, nor Logan, who just looked down.  Everyone got their food, right on time, but still there was no sign of Regina.  The young mutants chattered on excitedly.

                Back in the hallways Regina was struggling to find her way.  The Professor had to use his mind to guide her, but she needed to rest twice along the way.  Eventually she made it.  She peeked around the open door of the dining room.  She cautiously moved to stand full in the doorway, hands clasped behind her back, looking around diffidently.  The other mutants looked up at her and everything went silent.

                The other students just stared at her, taking her in, being quite surprised.  Her appearance was quite startling.  Her black eye had turned to a yellowy-green and the swelling was almost down, but this made it look almost more grotesque.  The scar from the stitches still showed up lucidly, and there was a thin, livid red line across the front of her neck where the gangster had pressed the knife so hard.  More random trivial bruises showed up purple on her face, neck, and arms.  Regina squirmed slightly, being very uncomfortable and shy.  A tall, attractive red-head took it upon herself to be the first to break the awkward silence. 

                "Hi!  My name's Jean Grey," she introduced herself with a smile, if somewhat uncertain, as she still hadn't fully gotten over the shock yet.  Regina nodded hello.  Looking around at the table she saw there were two seats open, one in between a tall boy with red sunglasses and Kitty, who smiled at her, and another on the end next to Logan.  He looked up and caught her eye briefly, looking down again as soon as he saw the old look of anxiety creep into her face.  She swiftly made her way to the seat next to Kitty.

                As she sat, the others followed Jean Grey's lead and introduced themselves.  The tall boy next to her introduced him self as Scott Summers, there was Kitty to her right, and next to her a very pretty yet gothic girl called simply Rogue.  Next to her was another bizarre blue creature, not at all resembling Kurt, who's name was Professor Hank McCoy.  The Professor was at the head of the table to Scott's left.  Across from Scott was a dark-skinned woman with white hair and an entrancing voice named Ororo, then Jean, and then an African American with a curious haircut named Evan.  After him were Kurt and then Logan.

                Regina received all introductions with a friendly nod, though her head was swimming.  Maybe she wasn't ready to be up and about… _No,_ she assured herself, _you're fine, you were totally ready to come down here. _ She had, however, already forgotten the names of half the people sitting around the table.  She was never good with names.

                Scott tried to start up a friendly conversation with the exceedingly quiet mutant by asking, "So, where are you from?"  Regina frowned and looked down at her plate, which had food on it (still warm!).  Scott looked at the Professor questioningly, wondering what it was that he said wrong.  Professor just shook his head slightly.

                Rogue tried Scott's effort again, "So, uh, Regina… how old are you?"  Logan looked up in surprise as Regina answered softly, "Fourteen."  She was only fourteen?  How could a face so care-worn belong to that of a fourteen year old?

                Liking Rogue at once because of her unique style and intriguing accent, Regina kept up the conversation by asking her, "How old are you?"  After she asked, she looked down again in embarrassment, thinking she had been too impertinent.  She didn't want to answer personal questions, why should they?

                But Rogue replied easily, "I'm fifteen," glad to finally hear the reserved girl say something. "But only just."

                "Your accent is really cool," Regina continued, emboldened slightly by her reply, "Where are you from?"

                Rogue answered, "I spent most of my life down in Tennessee."   Regina nodded earnestly, honestly very interested.  The rest of the meal was spent in small talk with the new mutant, everyone really liking Regina, though it was difficult getting her to say anything, and she liking them.  The Professor was quite pleased to see everyone getting along so well, for once.  Logan was the only one that didn't speak a word the whole time, and left early with a grunt of thanks.  Regina watched his back as he walked away, still not sure what to think of the stranger, for a stranger to her he still was.

                However, to the consternation of the other students, most of the conversation was about them, so that Regina learned volumes about them, but their curiosity about her was far from satisfied.

                After dinner was over, Regina was feeling a lot better, her strength renewed by the food, and her anxieties about the other mutants were gone, leaving her mind much more at ease.  As everyone left the dining room to go about whatever they had to do before the night was out, Regina stood in the hallway looking both ways.

                The mansion was huge, even the small portion she had seen of it.  She was greatly intrigued by it, and wanted to have a look around, but still wasn't sure how long her renewed strength would last, nor if she could find her way back to her room alone.  Fortunately, Kurt walked up next to her and said friendlily, "Hey, do you vant a tour of zeh mansion?" in his charming accent.  Regina was pleasantly surprised at this offer and agreed enthusiastically.

                "All right!" Kurt exclaimed elatedly, "Hang on tight!"  Before Regina could take back her consent, she was teleported to another part of the seemingly boundless mansion.

                Before she knew what was happening, Kurt had teleported them both outside, to a basketball court.

                "This is our basketball court," he said proudly.

                "I kind of guessed that," Regina replied.  Kurt laughed and teleported to a cliff not far from the mansion, saying, "This is all Xavier property too."  Then, in a more secretive tone, "When ve use zeh X-jet that is vhere it comes out!"

                "Out of a waterfall?" Regina asked.  Then, upon thinking, she added incredulously, "Wait, you have a _jet_?"  Kurt nodded and said, "Yeah!  Let me show you!" and promptly 'ported to the hangar for the X-jet.  Regina stood in disbelief, staring at the huge, modern piece of machinery, blinking several times.

                Kurt laughed at her amazement and said, "That's not all!"  He then 'ported her to all the other wings of the house and the garage, showing her the X-van.

                "And now," Kurt said, "saving the best for last…"-here he teleported-"Cerebro!"

                Now Regina stared in wonder at Professor Xavier's supercomputer.  In its explanation, all Kurt said was, "This is the Professor's computer," and, just before porting, "He used it to find you!"  Then they were in the Danger Room.  To Regina's eyes, it seemed fairly plain, but also brought back a horrible memory she was using all her mind power to keep from resurfacing.

                "What is this?" she asked.

                "This is really zeh best room in the Institute!  It's called zeh Danger Room!  This is vhere ve learn how to use our powers to, uh, fight evil, and stuff like that."

                Regina was quite impressed.  It had been getting no earlier, however, and she still needed a lot more rest before starting school the next day, so Kurt 'ported her to her room, where the two friends said good-night.  As soon as she went into her room she was surprised to see a pair of plain black pajamas sitting folded on the bed.  _Wow!  How nice! she thought.  Putting them on she crawled into bed and was instantly asleep.  Then, the dream came back again._

_Alone, all alone.  So cold.  Trembling, can't stop shaking.  Such fear, mind clouded, blind, numb with it.  The room was white, harsh lights blared down at her mercilessly.  She could feel the cold bite of the metal chair of which she was clasped to by cold steel bands.  Sweat beads gathered on her face, though she was cold, so very cold.  She couldn't see them, but she knew they were there, watching her, always watching her.  Her heart was beating like a hummingbird, her blood pounding deafeningly in her ears, couldn't catch her breath._

                In the Institute, Regina had broken into a cold sweat, and was tossing and turning in her bed, emitting short moans now and again.  Being asleep she didn't know this, but everyone in the mansion's hair was standing on end, as if by static.  The lights in the Institute began flickering on and off, waking everyone.  Professor X, Logan, Mr. McCoy, and Ororo headed up to the kids' rooms where they were all standing in the hallway; all except Regina.  Her most dreaded part of the recurring nightmare was coming, and she couldn't stop it, because it was real.

_Pain, nothing but pain, searing, gnawing, fiery hot pain!  Light flashed before her eyes, something was burning, burning her body, tearing her flesh everywhere, she could feel it.  Her head was being ripped apart, her chest was exploding, though she couldn't breath, couldn't take in any air  She was dying, she couldn't hold on much longer, wanted to let go, anything to rid herself of the horrendous pain.  Her ears were filled with screams, horrific, nightmarish banshee wails, terrifying her to realize they were her own.  Then everything stopped.  The white fire was gone, and she felt nothing.  Everything was numb.  She couldn't hear or feel a thing.  Then, everything went black._

                Here Regina woke, as she usually did, jerking upright in bed, shaking and sweating, gasping for air.  She took deeper breaths, trying to calm herself.  _You have a new life now, that one is gone, gone for good!, she tried to reassure herself.  Then she jumped as she looked up to see the Professor, Ororo, and Kitty standing in her room, staring at her._

                "Are you all right?" the Professor asked concernedly.

                "Yeah, I'm fine," Regina assured them breathlessly, just wanting them to go away right then.  "It was just a nightmare."  Had she been screaming in her sleep or something?  She didn't know.

                "Sorry to have woken you," she apologized.

                "Oh, that's quite all right, just so long as you're okay," the Professor said.  Regina nodded.  He still didn't look completely convinced but he headed to the door, choosing not to leave as he entered, through the wall.

                Regina watched the three mutants leave. After they were gone she took her head in her hands and thought desperately, _Why oh why do these dreams have to start back now?_


	5. Chapter Five

Well, I must tell you I am very saddened by the lack of reviews.  But I will keep writing just because!  Vigilence!  Vigilance!  So here's the next chapter!  REVIEWS ARE YOUR **FRIENDS**!  

Chapter Five-"In the Swing of Things"

                The next morning Regina awoke, totally set to completely erase the memory of the dream, and the memory the dream came from.  She didn't have to change, seeing as she had no clothes, so she headed to the room that Kurt had shown her where they ate breakfast.  Sort of a common room almost.  When she arrived there, getting lost only once!, she was surprised to see only one other person there.  She had come down a little later than she had planned, having had a hard time getting back to sleep after that nightmare, and thought that more of her peers would be in there.  However only Professor McCoy was there, seated at the table reading the newspaper.  He looked up as she walked in.

                "You're up early," he said, slightly surprised.

                "I thought everyone else would be here already," she admitted, slightly confused.

                "Very few people here wake up this early on a Saturday," Professor McCoy answered, peering at the new student over his newspaper.  Regina blinked.  _Saturday?__  Oh cripes, it's Saturday! She thought, inwardly smacking herself on the head.  "Well, uh, I'm just an early riser, I guess!" she said lightly, trying to cover her blunder.  Professor McCoy smiled and went back to his newspaper, saying, "Since you and I are the only ones up, you have full reign of the kitchen!  Make whatever you like."_

                "I've never been much of a cook," she replied, "Simple milk and cereal will do just fine."  Professor McCoy directed her to all the equipment necessary for making a bowl of cereal, and she sat down with it when she was done.

                "Any particular section you like to read?" Professor McCoy asked her, indicating the newspaper.

                "Sports, if you're not reading it," she answered.  He wasn't so he handed it to her and the two sat in friendly silence, reading the paper, until someone came in.

                Regina, finishing her cereal, pushed her bowl away, and peeked around her section of the newspaper to see who had come in.  Upon seeing she immediately went back behind the paper; Logan had entered the room.  Her eyes widened in the fear that always took her for some reason when she saw him.  She tried to take control of herself, convincing herself it was just a dream, there was nothing wrong with Logan…right?

                "'Morning, Hank," he greeted Professor McCoy.  He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down heavily at the table.  Regina peered over at him as he shuffled through the newspaper.

                "Where's the sports section?" he asked Professor McCoy.  He looked over at Regina as she rustled the paper slightly and sank down in her seat.

                "Oh.  I guess I'll take this then," he said, pulling another section out of the paper.

                So the three sat together, hardly acknowledging the others' presences, fully absorbed in his or her own reading material.  It passed very pleasantly that way too.  Scott, in his PJs, came down for breakfast first, hardly getting more than a few incoherent mumbles of greeting to his, "good morning" from the three at the table.  Shaking his head at them slightly he decided to take his toast upstairs.

                Everyone eventually came, one at a time for the most part, to get their breakfast, but the three mutants at the table couldn't have told you so, for all the attention they were paying.  Regina was the first to finish, and after she returned the folded newspaper section to the pile she stood and went to explore the mansion some more.  Now that it was Saturday, she had much more time to adjust than she thought, which was nice.


End file.
